Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)

Phd Thesis Seabird breeding populations have been experiencing change over the last 40 years with low reproductive success being associated with poor foraging conditions. A comparison of the breeding ecology of Arctic and Common Terns showed significant differences in reproductive strategy and outpu...

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Main Author: Morris, Laura Claire
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Newcastle University 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1882
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spelling ftuninewcastleth:oai:theses.ncl.ac.uk:10443/1882 2023-05-15T14:48:16+02:00 Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo) Morris, Laura Claire 2013 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1882 en eng Newcastle University http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1882 Thesis 2013 ftuninewcastleth 2022-01-07T13:02:40Z Phd Thesis Seabird breeding populations have been experiencing change over the last 40 years with low reproductive success being associated with poor foraging conditions. A comparison of the breeding ecology of Arctic and Common Terns showed significant differences in reproductive strategy and output associated with differences in their sensitivities to changing conditions. Both clutch size and productivity were consistently lower in Arctic Terns than Common Terns. Chicks of both species hatched asynchronously with mortality increasing down the brood hierarchy. Younger sibling survival was impacted both by seasonal conditions and by elder sibling survival, although to varying degrees depending on species and hatching order. Arctic Terns foraged at a higher rate but on less energy rich prey and on a less varied diet. Both species increased provisioning and decreased parental attendance at the nest as chicks grew older, corresponding with the changes in chicks’ thermoregulatory abilities and energy requirements. Provisioning of chicks was primarily increased by selection of higher energy prey rather than through increased provisioning rate. Diurnal rhythms in either provisioning rate or diet were seen in both species, primarily associated with changing behaviour of prey fish. Temperature and precipitation affected provisioning, but adults maintained energy delivery to chicks. Increase in wind speed negatively impacted chick provisioning despite increased foraging effort. Chick mortality was linked to weather and feeding conditions, with high mortality linked to windy conditions and low provisioning. Yearly differences in productivity and chick mortality were associated with provisioning, and low parental attendance indicated poor foraging conditions. The reproductive output of both species is sensitive to declining foraging conditions and increased severity of weather conditions. The data implies that the sensitivity of Arctic Terns is greater than that of Common Terns, and that conditions around Coquet Island are sub-optimal for Arctic Tern breeding. Thesis Arctic Arctic tern Common tern Sterna hirundo Sterna paradisaea Newcastle University eTheses Arctic
institution Open Polar
collection Newcastle University eTheses
op_collection_id ftuninewcastleth
language English
description Phd Thesis Seabird breeding populations have been experiencing change over the last 40 years with low reproductive success being associated with poor foraging conditions. A comparison of the breeding ecology of Arctic and Common Terns showed significant differences in reproductive strategy and output associated with differences in their sensitivities to changing conditions. Both clutch size and productivity were consistently lower in Arctic Terns than Common Terns. Chicks of both species hatched asynchronously with mortality increasing down the brood hierarchy. Younger sibling survival was impacted both by seasonal conditions and by elder sibling survival, although to varying degrees depending on species and hatching order. Arctic Terns foraged at a higher rate but on less energy rich prey and on a less varied diet. Both species increased provisioning and decreased parental attendance at the nest as chicks grew older, corresponding with the changes in chicks’ thermoregulatory abilities and energy requirements. Provisioning of chicks was primarily increased by selection of higher energy prey rather than through increased provisioning rate. Diurnal rhythms in either provisioning rate or diet were seen in both species, primarily associated with changing behaviour of prey fish. Temperature and precipitation affected provisioning, but adults maintained energy delivery to chicks. Increase in wind speed negatively impacted chick provisioning despite increased foraging effort. Chick mortality was linked to weather and feeding conditions, with high mortality linked to windy conditions and low provisioning. Yearly differences in productivity and chick mortality were associated with provisioning, and low parental attendance indicated poor foraging conditions. The reproductive output of both species is sensitive to declining foraging conditions and increased severity of weather conditions. The data implies that the sensitivity of Arctic Terns is greater than that of Common Terns, and that conditions around Coquet Island are sub-optimal for Arctic Tern breeding.
format Thesis
author Morris, Laura Claire
spellingShingle Morris, Laura Claire
Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
author_facet Morris, Laura Claire
author_sort Morris, Laura Claire
title Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
title_short Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
title_full Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
title_fullStr Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
title_full_unstemmed Breeding ecology of Artic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo)
title_sort breeding ecology of artic tern (sterna paradisaea) and common tern (sterna hirundo)
publisher Newcastle University
publishDate 2013
url http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1882
geographic Arctic
geographic_facet Arctic
genre Arctic
Arctic tern
Common tern
Sterna hirundo
Sterna paradisaea
genre_facet Arctic
Arctic tern
Common tern
Sterna hirundo
Sterna paradisaea
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1882
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